Radiation exposure leads to more aggressive cancer

Exposure to radiation, at work or as part of a course of medical treatment, increases susceptibility to more aggressive forms of cancer, a report claims.

Canadian scientists studied thyroid cancer patients, comparing and contrasting the cancers and the long-term prospects of those who had been in contact with radioactive material and those who had not.

Researchers monitored 125 cancer victims who had been exposed to radiation earlier in life, through jobs such as dental assistants or radiographic technicians, treatment for conditions like acne, or environmental occurrences.

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This data was then compared to a group of cancer patients with no history of radiation exposure. They found the first group were over twice as likely to need to have their thyroid removed, ten times more likely to need additional surgery and more than three times as likely to have the most virulent type of thyroid cancer.

And four per cent of the exposed group died of the disease, compared with 1.5 per cent of the unexposed patients.

The findings are published in the journal Archives of OtolaryngologyHead & Neck Surgery with the authors concluding: 'Therefore, this study suggests that patients who have been exposed to radiation have more aggressive disease and worse clinical outcome than other patients with thyroid cancer and, therefore, may require more aggressive treatment.'

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